tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97843972009-07-03T13:47:38.382+02:00A GLOBAL WINDOW FOR MALTESE CULTURE, SOCIETY, PEOPLE, HISTORY, BLOGS, NEWS... "There is something about this isle of intrigue and its people that unexpectedly enchants, no matter why or how reluctantly you first arrived. Falling under Malta's spell is remarkably easy to do" – LOS ANGELES TIMESRobert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.comBlogger2147125This is an XML content feed. It is intended to be viewed in a newsreader or syndicated to another site, subject to copyright and fair use.tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-85009920826052481062009-07-03T13:36:00.002+02:002009-07-03T13:47:38.402+02:00

The choice of the the new US ambassador to Malta is "sure to spark opposition in Catholic circles given Malta's strongly pro-life stance" writes Steven Ertelt, editor of lifenews.com:President Barack Obama has named Douglas Kmiec, the Pepperdine University law professor who has become a key impediment to pro-life Catholics as the ambassador to Malta. The move is sure to spark opposition in

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/07/catholic-sparks.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-31597160506357074672009-07-01T13:23:00.002+02:002009-07-01T13:26:37.509+02:00

Fresh from playing at Gianpula fields, Moby calls Malta 'rocky and old':Hi from malta. Wasn't napoleon exiled here? Its an amazing place. Very rocky and old.And today (well, monday) is the day 'wait for me' is released (except for usa, where its released tuesday, I think). I hope you like it. Well, assuming you hear it. If you hear it I hope you like it.I apologize for seeming/sounding

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/07/rocky-and-old.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-31304451371769686312009-06-28T18:30:00.000+02:002009-06-28T18:30:04.424+02:00

Winston Chesterfield takes a critical look at the Valletta dining experience:Don't get me wrong, most of the restaurants we went to were lovely; Giannini, Malata (with live jazz), Il Horza etc had decent food and plenty of charm. But only one of them had anything like a view (Giannini's view is fantastic), and they felt half done. For a World Heritage Site, a stop off point for have-yacht

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/le-vrai-winston-part-2.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-15701264783501044652009-06-26T19:10:00.002+02:002009-06-26T20:30:04.623+02:00

Winston Chesterfield form Westminster, London writes about his recent visit to Malta:I have just returned from a short break in Malta with Victoria. We stayed very near to Valletta - which is rather culture rich, cuisine poor - but the scenery more than made up for the lack of fine dining. It was very convenient to get from Valletta to other parts of Malta and we made many day trips - to Gozo and

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/le-vrai-winston-part-1.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-12897658209167323902009-06-22T16:11:00.000+02:002009-06-22T16:11:00.937+02:00

Sandra Martin says modern Malta is more urban than rural:So after tromping around Valletta and making a day trip to Mdina, the old capital of Malta - a medieval town often called the Silent City because of its maze of interconnected alleyways and corridors - we needed a break and decided to take the ferry to Gozo, the second largest island in the Malta archipelago.Gozo is countryside: fruitful

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/getting-friendly-in-malta-part-2.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-36080851121150960652009-06-21T15:58:00.000+02:002009-06-21T15:58:02.601+02:00

Writing in Canada's Globe and Mail, Sandra Martin writes about her week's stay in Malta:Good friends moved to Malta recently as refugees from supposedly idyllic southern France, where they had been reminded once too often that bureaucracy is a French word. Malta seemed an ideal address - still Mediterranean, undeniably beautiful, richly historic, with recognizably English laws and an amicable tax

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/getting-friendly-in-malta-part-1.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-11917639860819537452009-06-20T07:42:00.001+02:002009-06-20T16:49:52.341+02:00

The European Council has welcomed an initiative for the co-ordination of voluntary measures for the settlement of migrants starting with a pilot project for Malta:..Speaking to journalists at the end of the two day gathering of 27 heads of Government of EU member states, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi expressed satisfaction at the direct reference made in the Presidency conclusions to a pilot

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/european-council-june-2009-day-2.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-60066229635685356912009-06-19T16:35:00.001+02:002009-06-20T16:50:34.662+02:00

This is the first of my MaltaMedia reports from the European Council meeting in Brussels:..Although Barroso is expected to get the support of EU leaders, the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune reported on Thursday that Barroso is facing opposition to his re-election within the European Parliament particularly from the Greens and Socialists despite the lack of a clear challenger

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/european-council-june-2009-1st-report.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-28234839465688536892009-06-14T10:38:00.002+02:002009-06-14T10:48:04.901+02:00

Roving Reader and Wexas agent Simon Clifford explains why he changed his views about Malta:And for clients who like the home away from home feel, there are all the signs that this was once a small corner of the British empire: they drive on the same side of the road, use three-pin plugs and the red phone box still stands proud. They even call their children Kevin, Sharon and Kelly!My trip around

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/changed-views.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-41700357636955393842009-06-11T11:26:00.001+02:002009-06-11T13:15:39.690+02:00

Tourism bosses are attempting to lure visitors to the unfashionable seaside city of Portsmouth by comparing it to Malta, writes James Piercy in The Telegraph:In a new marketing campaign scheduled to run throughout the summer, Southern Railways – which operates services between central London and the south coast – describes Portsmouth as "The New Malta".Although Portsmouth is famous for its naval

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/portsmouth-new-malta.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-55057498385471038862009-06-09T12:09:00.000+02:002009-06-09T12:09:00.426+02:00

Wilbur Smith has a house in Malta but his main residence is in Cape Town, he tells FT columnist William Leith:When you think of Wilbur Smith, you think of lions, of men shooting lions, of men who shoot lions and have sex with beautiful women. You think of Africa. You think of the great riches of Africa, and the men who squandered those riches, mostly towards the end of the 19th century. You think

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/wilbur-smith.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-51125313824200460832009-06-08T11:55:00.002+02:002009-06-08T12:09:35.434+02:00

Although Labour is celebrating in Malta after an impressive electoral performance , it was a different story in the rest of Europe where centre-right parties have done well in the elections at the expense of the left. Meanwhile, the official local results can be viewed here. Click here for the official results in the rest of the European Union.

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/different-story.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-62814458508497219422009-06-07T16:11:00.003+02:002009-06-07T20:29:48.676+02:00

It appears that the smaller parties have not benefited from a protest vote in these elections unlike in other European Union member states. The two party political divide in Malta seems to have been consolidated today since the Labour Party appears to be the main beneficiary of the popular dissatisfaction with the party in government. The only uncertainty at this stage is about who will get the

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/protest-vote.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-51832452141606037162009-06-07T14:27:00.002+02:002009-06-07T15:17:26.347+02:00

With just over ninety minutes of vote sorting Labour emerges the winner with a majority of votes. The margin of victory is wide by Maltese standards. Labour got 57% of the votes according to a sample conducted by the PN and 55% according to a sample made by the PL. This means that the difference between the two parties is over 30,000 votes.

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/labour-gets-majority.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-89547915410429450252009-06-07T12:48:00.004+02:002009-06-07T15:27:51.006+02:00

The sorting of the votes cast in the elections has just started at the Naxxar counting centre. This is the most exciting moment of the process because it involves the assignment of ballot papers according to the first preference given to candidates. Political parties will be taking samples of the votes cast in all districts to get an indication of the probable overall result.

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/sorting-starts.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-55459204764318656962009-06-07T12:40:00.002+02:002009-06-07T12:47:33.486+02:00

The BBC has published an online guide to the European Parliament elections looking country-by-country at the main issues at stake. It indicates that national issue have overshadowed the purely European issues in most member states. This is what it says about Malta:Two parties dominate Malta's polarised politics - the centre-right Nationalist Party, led by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, and the

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/polarised-politics.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-84953950849266754962009-06-07T10:41:00.004+02:002009-06-07T12:33:24.798+02:00

A total of 254,084 people voted in yesterday's European Parliament elections out of a total of 322,411 registered voters. This means that the turnout reached 78.81 percent, down from 82.4 percent in the first elections in 2004. Taking a look at the voting trends across Malta it appears that the highest turnout was in the smaller towns and villages. The turnout was lowest in larger towns such as

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/small-is-better.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-45068809115340052752009-06-06T14:30:00.000+02:002009-06-07T10:41:12.211+02:00

The European Parliament has competences in a number of legislative, budgetary and oversight decisions of the European Union which affect the lives of the 375 million people who are eligible to vote this week. Mike Mardell of the BBC is intrigued by the idea that the European Parliament could also perhaps one day elect the whole European Commission.

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/electing-commission.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-28172893251394716232009-06-04T00:05:00.002+02:002009-06-04T11:51:47.856+02:00

One other thing that EU member states could not agree on is a common election day. Voters across Europe will vote over four days between today Thursday and this coming Sunday. Most countries will vote on Sunday but polling day in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom is traditionally on a Thursday. Friday is election day in Ireland while Czechs vote on Friday and Saturday. The first results will

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/four-days-of-voting.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-44147900255328316562009-06-03T22:53:00.004+02:002009-06-04T14:32:56.571+02:00

According to EU law, voting procedures for the European Parliament elections must be the same in all member countries. However, this has never happened since the first European elections in 1979. Each member state has its own voting procedures. Even the legal voting age is not harmonised. In all member states, the minimum age for voting is 18 years with the exception of Austria where 16 year-olds

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/voting-age.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-18483462299624555232009-06-03T22:13:00.002+02:002009-06-03T22:52:54.699+02:00

People across 27 European countries will be voting this weekend for their representatives in the European Parliament. The Maltese will cast their vote on Saturday for one of these candidates. I will be posting a number of entries over the coming days presenting comments and viewpoints from a number of local and European sources dealing with issues that are relevant to these elections. On Sunday I

Robert Micallefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01137063336380847026noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/06/blogging-about-european-elections.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-5197009219859749792009-05-31T07:00:00.001+02:002009-05-31T08:19:45.222+02:00

Just the other day, I met my friend Adrian Mamo, Chairman of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. I asked about this year's Malta Arts Festival and complained about the way the Malta Jazz Festival had lost its soul before it actually had the opportunity to mature. Well, this year, I was informed, the real Jazz Festival is back with a vengeance. One of the musicians playing this year is

Gattaldohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182830563155164414noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/05/real-jazz-festival-is-back.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-23209945513089503892009-05-30T07:30:00.001+02:002009-05-30T07:54:46.298+02:00

In a statement yesterday, the representatives of the Church in Malta, Pawlu Cremona and Mario Grech said voters should choose candidates who supported families based on marriage between men and women.Read my lips Mr and Mr Bishop - We Are Family too.I, in turn, encourage you to choose candidates who support a clear separation of church and state.

Gattaldohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182830563155164414noreply@blogger.com1http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/05/we-are-family-bishops-of-malta.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-55699119715807815352009-05-29T07:00:00.004+02:002009-05-29T20:00:42.354+02:00

Never have I received so many invites to 'parties' as I have in these last few days. I must admit it has been mostly my fault for 'befriending' most MEP hopefuls via Facebook. Here are indeed some characters I look forward to meeting in the streets of Valletta, come Friday 03 July. BARROCO-ROLLA Street Theatre Performance by Azar TeatroFollowing the enormous success in the Malta Arts Festival

Gattaldohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182830563155164414noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/05/forget-sharon-duke-of-lamarcop-sounds.shtmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9784397.post-323334029463705912009-05-28T07:00:00.001+02:002009-05-28T07:09:43.339+02:00

The May sun bore down heavily on Sarah as she waited for the number 4 bus. She squinted at the steam rising from the hot tarmac below the Portes des Bombes and resolved to buy a better pair of sunglasses. Thankfully, the dusty orange vehicle arrived before she herself evaporated. Sarah handed the fare over to the driver and scurried to the only vacant seat, next to a fat middle-aged woman who

Gattaldohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07182830563155164414noreply@blogger.com2http://www.dailymalta.com/wt/2009/05/borgo-5-start-of-friendship.shtml